TRANSPORT MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien has said that a ban on scramblers in public places could be introduced in a “matter of weeks”.
The Government announced the move at the beginning of the month and Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the law will be named after Grace Lynch, who died on 25 January after an incident involving one of the bikes.
The proposals include a total ban on scrambler use in public places, as well as strengthening the existing enforcement powers of An Garda Síochána.
Road Safety Minister Sean Canney and O’Brien today met with Grace’s mother Siobhán and father Martin.
Siobhán Lynch and Martin Lynch on way into Government Buildings to meet the Minister for Transport this morning. RollingNews.ie
RollingNews.ie
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, O’Brien noted that the content of the meeting will remain private and added: “They’re remarkable people who are bearing such an incredible loss”.
“I just recommitted that we would do absolutely everything we can in Grace’s memory,” he added.
“We took their inputs on board, and we’ve committed to staying directly in contact with them.”
O’Brien further remarked that work on banning scramblers from public places is “advancing very well” and that there were meetings yesterday with the Attorney General’s office in relation to the legal definition of scramblers.
O’Brien said that the “legal definition of a scrambler doesn’t actually exist”.
“You can look it up on AI as to what the definition would be – we’re working through a robust legal definition on that.”
O’Brien said the draft regulations have been sent to the Attorney General’s office and added: “That’s being brought through literally in a matter of weeks.
“I brought the family up to speed on the time frame there.”
He added that the “focus initially is on the ban on scramblers in public spaces, both in public roads and public places”.
“We’re also, separately but in parallel, working in relation to safety matters around e-scooters and e-bikes and they [Grace’s parents] fully understood why our focus is in that space.
O’Brien said he would like to see the regulations in place by March and added “we can do that”.
“Sean and I went through some of the details with Grace’s parents earlier on today and we’re well advanced with that work, it’s really a matter of weeks.
“I don’t want to be evasive, but we’re watching very, very closely, and we’ll bring it in as soon as possible.”
